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JHA
COUNCIL, 27-28 NOVEMBER 2003The JHA Council on 27-28 November adopted a Protocol
to the Europol Convention and the EC Regulation on parental responsibility
judgments and agreed the general approach of several other proposals.
Inexplicably, the EC Directive on expulsion by air and a Decision
authorising signature of the Sri Lanka readmission agreement
were adopted by the Ecofin Council (on economic and financial
policy) just two days earlier (see below).

EUROPOL3. A Protocol
to Europol Convention was adopted by JHA Council
of 27-23 November 2003. It will amend a number of separate provisions
in the Europol Convention, extending Europol's scope and mandate

4. The first report of the Europol
Joint Supervisory Authority,covering the period
October 1998 to October 2002 was published. In reference to Europol's
compliance with US demands for cooperation since 'September 11'
the Chair of the JSA "express[ed] the wish that when the
second activity report is published in 2004, we will able to
state that the values of humanism have triumphed over the forces
of obscurantism".

5. According to the Commission work programme to 2004, it will
present a Framework Decision on the transfer of police data to
non-EU States (see forthcoming
measures, SEMDOC legislative observatory, Title VI)

6. A draft Europol
cooperation agreement with Turkey has been prepared.
Like the extraordinary agreement with the USA that was applied
before a full cooperation treaty was agreed, it excludes the
exchange of personal data. However, given the extent of informal
cooperation envisaged in the agreement, and the admission that
Europol was passing data to US agencies on an 'emergency' basis,
one has to wonder whether these informal agreements are actually
de facto cooperation treaties with countries where data
protection is too weak to allow a 'normal' agreement. Another
draft cooperation treaty excluding the exchange of personal data
between Europol
and Columbia is also on the table. A full list of Europol
treaties with third states and agencies is available on the SEMDOC
legislative observatory, Title VI international
treaties

17. A number of measures in which Denmark has declared it will
participate (under the Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty) and
several from which it is opting out are listed on the SEMDOC
legislative observatory(Title IV)

19. The Commission has proposed the creation of an EU
Migration management network."As a development
of the Early Warning System, the network is primarily designed
to facilitate the exchange of strategic and tactical information
on irregular or illegal migratory flows and trends"

20. This proposed network is part of the development of the EU
Border Police. An analysis by Statewatch shows that
the Commission's "border management" proposal hides
unaccountable, operational bodies. A proposal for a Decision
on police cooperation in internal border regions for is expected
from the Commission September next year

24. JHA ministers also approved the general approach to European
Enforcement Order. None of the recent Council documents
on the proposal have been made available to the public

POLICE
AND CRIMINAL LAW25. An EU
Framework Decision on drug trafficking, which has been
held-up because of the issue of "drug tourism", was
agreed at the JHA Council on 27-28 November 2003. The agreed
text has not yet been released by the Council but is published
here